brave and vulnerable enough (to heal)
by cyclothimic
Summary: prompt: can you do a continuation of the first one you wrote for me? would love to see some more angst of course, putting lena in a wheelchair is so f'd up but I expect nothing less from you ;) l or Lena tries to navigate with the wheelchair and Kara is patient in trying to repair her friendship with Lena [part 2 of one uninterrupted wound]


**i just had a final exam and it was brutal. this is for whatiwork4 on tumblr - thank you for the coffee!**

 **now, read, ponder, and enjoy!**

* * *

 _There are all these moments you think you won't survive. And then you survive._

 _-Anonymous_

* * *

"What are you –" Kara called out as she landed on the balcony, but then decided against it with a frustrated look and stopped Lena from pushing entire body up from the wheelchair. "What do you want? Just tell me and I'll get it for you."

"It's fine."

Lena settled herself back to the wheelchair and fiddled with the toggle to wheel away from the blonde before she allowed herself to be too absorbed in the smell of clouds and clean air. Behind her, heavy and frustrated footsteps, echoed under persistent red boots, followed.

"I thought we were past this," Kara said, almost whined.

The crippled woman stopped at the doorway to the balcony, eyes trained on the floor that Kara had just stepped on just now. She tilted her head slightly as she studied the prints of the boots left in the dust, slowly blown away by the autumn wind of National City in the evening.

Ever since she woke up at the DEO and realized that all her efforts to suppress the power of Harun-El Kara had come to fruition at the price of mobility, she had trained herself to be more aware. More knowing. More attentive. Sometimes, she could even convince herself that paraplegia might have been useful in making her more scary – she could now only intimidate people with her mind without having to tower over that, and there was satisfaction to be found in that.

Of course, that was only sometimes.

Currently, still trapped in her own home at the advice of pretty much the whole medical team at the DEO and insistence of her secretary, she just wanted to keep herself drunk for the rest of the day.

Currently, stuck in this wheelchair and with heightened senses that might not compete with a Kryptonian's but were still pretty damn decent, she could sense Kara standing behind her and looking at her with confusion and apprehension.

She raised her hand and carded her fingers through her hair. In what, she didn't know.

Every morning, she woke up alone in her bed and the first thing she saw was the wheelchair. She could hardly get herself out of bed most of the time. And so many emotions would assault her all at once, from all directions – it almost felt physical. Similar to what she had felt when that piece of the ceiling fell on her and she could only pass out from the pain.

Frustration. Rage. Sorrow. Powerlessness. Desperation.

And then, of course, these emotions would ball up into a gigantic combination of something so ugly that Lena often felt bile rise in her throat. The only way she could release it without throwing up was to find a scapegoat.

"If you are so tired of me, Kara, you know where the door is."

"Not _that_ ," Kara refuted, hinging on total impatience. Lena remained unseeing. A huff. A sigh. Several Kryptonian mutters. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed that all is well between us just because –" The alien cut herself off there and just stopped talking all together.

Lena closed her eyes, one hand on the toggle on the arm of her wheelchair. A few pushes and pulls and she would have been able to get herself out of the living room and into her study, or even her bedroom. Out of sight, out of mind.

The meaner part of her wanted to say that there were other things – better things – she had to be concerned about than her current friendship – or relationship, whatever – with Supergirl. And she would have said it, to be honest, had Kara not speak those words with such solemnity and resignation. Because like it or not – Lena certainly did _not_ – she still found refusing Kara anything to be a rather…strenuous task.

"Never mind," Kara said, as if telling herself. And then she walked towards Lena and stood next to the woman, towering over her with her arms crossed and an indulgent expression on her face. "I promised that I'll always be here and I'm not about to go back on it. So what do you want? Do you want coffee? I can make you coffee. Or is it tea? Are you hungry? I can drop by that place you like and –"

"Scotch," Lena interjected, gaze darting away from the blonde back to the floor. The boot prints were gone.

Her companion went quiet for a moment. Lena could practically hear the protest hanging onto her tongue. For the following few seconds, nothing was said. And then Kara just sighed and made her way to the bar.

* * *

Kara found her in her office, slumped over her big desk, eyes closed and mouth slightly opened with a pen held in her slack fingers. All over the desk was paperwork that she had missed over a whole month of absence. Sam had tried to deal with all the documents that had to do with fiscal years and financial crunching, but she was still only the CFO and there were things that a CFO simply couldn't touch.

She had her head on Kara's lap with her body folded on the couch when she finally woke up from her nap. The blonde was sitting upright on the couch, head thrown over the back. Lena stared from her position, observing the tendons in that pale neck and the askew glasses that hung awkwardly over one ear and down her nose.

It was as she stared that she realized she wasn't in her office – the patterns of the ceiling were different from the one back at her office. She turned her head slightly to find that she was at her penthouse. Apparently, that one movement was enough to wake Kara up; the woman snorted as she shook out of slumber and tilted her head forward, bleary eyes trying to catch her surroundings.

When their eyes met, Kara's widened almost out of plausible proportions and froze into a stone under Lena's head. Taking pity on the blonde, the CEO pushed herself up to a sitting position, making adjustments so she could be facing Kara from the other side of the couch while sitting as comfortably as she could with two numb legs.

She propped her head in her hand that was steadied on the back of the couch and stared at Kara, who still seemed uncertain. Watching the woman fumble for words that only served to come out in weird noises was kind of…comforting, like a throwback to when times were much simpler and easier. She almost smiled, but caught herself soon enough to save it with a purse.

"Why didn't you just put me to bed?" she asked, taking pity on Kara once again.

"I didn't want to leave you alone," Kara managed.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "You could have still put me to bed."

Kara nodded in agreement, raising one finger to acquiesce to her point. "Except you, uh – you wouldn't let go of me when I tried to put you to bed?" The sentence ended in a questioning lilt as Kara winced. Lena began to feel the blush rise in her neck. "And I didn't want to leave you alone but I also didn't want to just…get in your bed without your permission. So I thought…" Without finishing her sentence, Kara pursed her lips and proceeded to motioned at the couch they were sitting on.

"I see."

Blue eyes met green eyes again, only to look away the next second. "Do you want to – I could – I'll get the –" She stood up and rubbed her lap a couple of times, ready to walk away.

"Kara." The blonde stopped, looking at Lena warily. Lena pinched the bridge of her nose and took a few deep breaths. "Maybe we could…talk," she stated, adamant to keep her eyes on the spot that Kara had just vacated.

It was obvious that Kara wasn't expecting that, judging by the sharp inhale she took and the way she just froze _again_. Lena counted in her head; when she reached ten and Kara was still frozen on the spot, Lena just shook her head, realizing it wasn't a good idea anyway. She pushed away from the back of the couch and nodded at the blonde.

"Yeah, you're right. Can you just help me get my chair, please?"

"No, Lena, I didn't mean to just freeze."

"I'd like to go to bed, Kara. Please fetch me my chair. Thank you."

"No, I can talk. I want to talk."

"Kara, I am tired. I still have to go back to the office tomorrow."

The blonde seemed ready to retort again, determined to get Lena to talk. But something must have shown on Lena's face, something that deterred Kara from pushing and got her to nod in agreement.

It didn't take long for Lena to settle into her bed after changing into her comfortable clothes. Like she had been listening, Kara came in with a glass of water and the pills that Lena had been prescribed, just like she had done since Lena was discharged. Once the items were placed on the bedside table, Kara stood by the bed, awkward and uncertain.

"I'll come by tomorrow," she whispered.

Lena nodded, eyes focused on the creases of her quilt cover. "Goodnight, Kara."

* * *

In all honesty, paraplegia had been a superior blow to her confidence and standing as a person. Her mother had raised her with vile words and scathing looks, and yet Lena had risen to be better. It was only with that mentality that Lena had managed to drag herself out of her funk and get back to her office in the first place.

And from there, she realized that she could do something, even with the chair. She could build. Or she could at least try.

That, and there was just something about watching a grown man well into his late fifties squirm because she _did not_ invite him to sit and proceeded to interrogate him about the money he's been stealing from the company that did something to her self-esteem. And she wouldn't have been able to discover his indiscretion had she not been cooped up in her home with nothing better to do.

Silver linings, as they always said.

She realized another thing from that point on, which was that she wasn't done helping her friend.

An agent literally stumbled and almost fell on his ass when he saw her perusing the ramp to get to the interior of the headquarters. And that created a domino effect of everyone else noticing her presence, therefore the whispers started, which Lena found herself hating, as always.

Because Lena had done many a thing in her life, save a majority of these people a few times, and the one time she was talked about was when she ended up in a wheelchair. They stared at her with not only suspicion, but also curiosity. Like she was a creature in the zoo. Like Lena Luthor being in a wheelchair was a mirage as compared to Lena Luthor who could walk, which to them was something akin to DEFCON 1.

She wasn't sure what that said about these agents that Alex was supposed to be supervising.

"Lena," Alex called out, emerging from one of the labs.

Lena suspected that Brainy was the one who alerted her of Lena's presence. The DEO Director was visibly surprised at her being here, but there was no sign of hostility in her body language whatsoever, so that was something. She did, however, picked up on Lena's increasing aggravation at the attention she was receiving.

Alex placed her hands on her hips and glared at her subordinates. "You get paid for a reason," she snapped.

"You're good at that," Lena commented, watching the agents scurry away to their stations with a wry smirk.

"I learned from J'onn." Alex turned back to her, scrutinizing her in her wheelchair, though not in a way where Lena was a curiosity. She was just being a dutiful doctor, even though Lena couldn't imagine she could see much like this. "So what are you doing here?"

"Sam's here, right?"

"Yeah. After the…thing," Alex hesitated, fingers twitching on her hips, "she started training with Kara every Thursday after work."

Lena ignored Alex's hesitancy and nodded. "Is there anywhere I can watch them without them knowing?" Alex raised her brows. "My best friend is training to be a superhero. I want to make sure she does it safely. Plus, Winn's not here anymore, and frankly, I don't trust your people enough to do."

The redhead, understanding the CEO's implications, nodded and started walking down one of the many hallways. Thankfully, she didn't try to push Lena's chair. While Lena admitted that she needed assistance, sometimes she just liked to pretend that she had a bit of independence in her mobility. At least for now.

They ended up on an elevated and isolated platform, with only a window for them to watch the fight happening below. It almost seemed like a dog fight, which was a grotesque way of putting it. Alex sat down on one of the chairs while Lena rolled up to the window and watch Kara and Sam do their thing.

Punches were thrown. Grunts and growls were sounded. Occasional advice was given. Intermittent complaints were placed.

But Lena wasn't watching those. She didn't want those. She just watched the way their bodies move, taking in the curves and bends and doing measurements in her head. Already, she had some ideas going on; the best way to keep Sam as flexible and unharmed as possible on the streets. That _was_ her intention; coming here just for Sam.

Except, as she watched, she found herself thinking about Kara as well. The length of the cape that could be an inconvenience at times. The squeaky boots. The impractical skirt. In her head, she shelved her ideas for Sam and started doing measurements for Kara as well. Not only so, there was…a scatter in her chest when she realized the extent of Kara's biceps and the workings of her thighs. It was unsound and annoying.

She would never be as foolish as to think it would be so easy to just get over the one person who was – or so she thought – not ashamed of her openness and identity with a Luthor. She suspected the feelings would always be there. However, she had been foolish enough to think that her anger could help in staving off the attraction in the first place.

Evidently not.

"Can we…talk?" Alex asked after a delayed moment.

Below, Sam was on her back and Kara was offering an arm to pull her up. Lena reversed her chair to align with Alex's seat and nodded mutely. When the decision was made to visit DEO, she had anticipated this.

"The last time I tried to talk to you, you were angry and you wouldn't listen, and I understand why," Alex began, eyes watching the two figures below.

Lena checked her fingernails. "Not really. We've talked plenty since then. You are my physician after all."

"Lena."

Closing her eyes, the CEO just shrugged. Pretending to be obtuse with Alex would never work. She should have known.

"I just have one question: will you ever give her a chance?"

When Lena turned to look at the other woman, she saw no trace of blame or ire. What she found was simply interest, a sense of inquisitiveness infused with concern for a sister and a friend's relationship.

She turned back to watch the goings-on below, noticing the way the green became particularly noticeable once the two Kryptonians had chosen to take a break. Sam was leaning against one side of the room while Kara was just pacing to catch her breath. They said nothing to each other, apart from the occasional tip and question, both of which related to their training regimen.

There was no small talk. No smile. No laugh. Nothing that implied that they ever had a friendship to begin with – that one saved the other's life, that both worked together to save _her_ life. Lena had to wonder if she did that.

"I'm trying. Is that enough?"

Alex placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Your pace is your pace."

And that's the best thing anyone had said to her since she woke up in the room one floor below.

* * *

"Maybe we could talk."

She supposed that she had to keep with her words somehow, and this was how she could try. Unlike last time, Kara just nodded and gathered a cushion into her arms. Her eagerness and readiness made her seem like she had been waiting for Lena to say these exact words since that night. And Lena had to fight a laugh at that.

But then as they sat there in silence, as the clock ticked way past normal bedtime, Lena was stuck. She wanted to talk, sure, but she wasn't used to this. She wasn't sure how to go about this reconciliation business. When Lena reconcile, it was usually with business partners and the methods she perused often hinged on coercion or intimidation, and that wasn't how she wanted to do this with Kara.

As if sensing her predicament, the blonde just nodded resolutely and placed a hand in the space between the two of them on the couch.

"I'm older than Superman," she offered. Lena met her eyes, unable to keep her surprised hidden away. Kara chuckled a little with a nod. "Oh yeah, I used to change his diapers and all that. And let me tell you, he wasn't a pleasant pooper." Encouraged by the minor tick at the edge of Lena's lips, Kara went on, "He didn't have hair for like three years because I kept plucking his hair."

"Oh dear."

"I don't think he remembers," Kara said as she squinted.

At that point, it was difficult to keep the humor in, so she didn't. She just burst out with a laugh, only to stop when Kara looked at her with wide eyes, wide and happy eyes. And then the blonde's lips widened into a gentle but delighted smile. Her hand remained where she had placed it, as if Lena could just take it any time she wanted.

"Four."

"What?"

Lena inhaled deeply and avoided Kara's eyes. "I was four when Lionel picked me up from the foster system and brought me to the Luthor mansion," she said. She smiled as she continued, "I had this teddy bear that my birth mother bought me as my first – and only – toy. A small hand-me-down backpack from a kid at one of the homes I was in. In that backpack were a water bottle and an Enid Blyton storybook. Those were all I had when I went to the Luthor mansion."

To her credit, Kara didn't say anything as silence blanketed over them. She could probably sense that Lena wasn't going to say anything else after that; she was always good at that. Lena tugged at a loose strand that had come out of a part of the couch, watching as the string unravel from its stitching, unconcerned with the fact that it may ruin the couch if she kept tugging.

"Superman," Lena mentioned like the change of subject was totally normal. Kara must have noticed her weak attempt, but apart from a small motion of her head, she did nothing else to show her surprise. "Like Clark Kent?" When Kara's eyes widened and her entire posture stiffened against the back of the couch, Lena got her answer, so she just nodded with a wry smile and sighed. "Of course," she muttered to herself, not sure how she felt about this new confirmation.

"Lena, you can't –"

"Don't worry, Kara. I kept your secret. I will keep his too," Lena replied, looking back at the blonde. "That's what –" She closed her mouth, frowning a little at the woman before her, as she pondered her next words carefully. "That's what friends are for, right?"

They didn't speak much after. In fact, Kara helped her into bed and they bade each other goodnight. But after her statement, the lightness in Kara's movements and facial features were telling enough. And when the blonde flashed her one last smile before going away for the night, Lena told herself that she did the right thing.

* * *

Mr. Rickman was talking about something or other – Lena had stopped paying attention when he veered off direction and started complaining about his teenage son for the third time – when her phone buzzed. Kara's name pinged on the screen and she saw it as a great opportunity to kick Mr. Rickman out and send him to Sam's office with his droll tales.

"Kara?"

"Please don't be mad at me," was the first thing Kara said.

Lena frowned at the words, wondering what the hell else could Kara do that might incite her anger again. She had only barely _started_ her forgiving journey for Kara Danvers. Without saying anything, she just swiveled around in her chair to look out the window, trying to see if she could spot a certain red and blue streak across the sky.

Nope. Nothing.

Just as she was about to ask, the phone on her desk crackled and Jess' voice came through. "Miss Luthor, there is someone here who would like to see you."

"Who?"

"Felicity Smoak," a foreign voice said over the intercom, muffling over Jess' protests. "I'm Kara's friend."

"That's right," Kara confirmed in her ear, a little too brightly if anyone asked Lena, like the way she usually sounded when she had something to hide or was nervous. "A good friend, that Felicity." And then she released a high-pitched laughter.

Lena clenched her jaw, not liking where this was heading. "We will talk about this later," she muttered before hanging up and clicking on her intercom. "Send her in."

There was a frustrated sigh, and Jess muttered something that almost sounded like a complaint about how no one allowed her to do her job anymore, especially ponytailed blondes with glasses. A moment later, the doors opened and in walked a blonde woman with her hair up in a neat ponytail and a pair of glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans and a shimmering light blue top that was almost see through if not for the modest bra underneath.

Lena may be in love with another, but she wasn't so blind as to be ignorant to a beautiful woman when she was confronted with one. Plus, it didn't really hurt that this woman and Kara kind of resembled each other, only Kara was definitely taller.

"I'd stand up and shake your hand, but circumstances aren't so forgiving," Lena said, only offering her hand across the table. "Felicity Smoak, you say?"

The woman nodded and shook the hand with a friendly smile. Honestly, it was almost as optimistic as Kara's. "Yes, and you are Lena Luthor. This is a very nice building you have here. I once had a similar one, but then it went bankrupt. I kind of…neglected my duties as a CEO. Also, it turned out my board of directors kind of consisted of assholes, so I guess there's also that. Anyway, I hope you don't lose this building."

The CEO had to blink at the end of the mini ramble. Felicity stood in front of the desk, hands on hips and obviously unnerved by her very own presence in this office. Lena had to wonder why she was even here in the first place if she was so damn nervous. But she was Kara's friend and Lena supposed then she couldn't be that bad – except Kara had the tendency to make friends with anyone, even the most questionable of them.

"Take a seat, Miss Smoak."

"Oh no, you can just call me Felicity." But the blonde took a seat anyway, casting her eyes around the office with admirable gaze, landing on the wheelchair just by the bookshelf. "I had one of those too. A little more than two years ago." She sounded a lot more somber and a lot less excited. "Had band-aids on my fingers for like two weeks because I kept pinching them with the wheels."

Lena didn't say anything, just followed the other woman's gaze to the wheelchair. A part of her wondered why Felicity had needed a chair in the first place; another part of her was sinister enough to think that Kara sent Felicity here to show off. It wasn't true, she knew that, but that was a train of thought to avoid realizing Kara's true motives.

Which, to be perfectly honest, Lena had figured out the minute Felicity mentioned her similar experience, despite the fact that they definitely were not similar. She was still deciding between softening at Kara's efforts or throwing a bottle of red wine at the Kryptonian when she would see her later.

"For the record, Kara practically kidnapped me from Earth-1. I did not give verbal consent."

Lena tilted her head. "Earth-1?"

"Oh no." Felicity groaned as she threw her head back. "It's a long story. Basically, there are multiple Earths and I'm from a different one than yours." Narrowing her eyes, the blonde scoffed a little. "Huh. I guess it's not that long."

In reaction, Lena could only laugh, wondering how Kara managed to pluck this one out of the burgeoning population of Earth-1. "Felicity," she pronounced, attempting to steer the conversation back. She leaned forward and propped her elbows on the desk. "I'm sure you had the best intentions coming here –"

"I did not give verbal consent."

Lena fought a smile and inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Right. But anyway, I don't –" Lena cast a glance to the wheelchair and back to her newfound acquaintance. "I'm not invalid, Felicity." Waving her hands at her office and the paperwork laid out before her, she continued, "I can still do things. I am still a CEO. I am still arguably the smartest person in the city, if not the country. I am still me."

"I know," Felicity eagerly replied with vigorous nods. "Believe me, _I know_." The woman slumped back in her chair with an empathetic expression on her features. "Which was why I actually thought it wouldn't be appropriate for me to be here. Your girlfriend can be really stubborn," she added as an off-handed comment.

The woman behind the desk blinked one time. Two times. And then she heaved a nervous scoff. "She's not – Kara's not my girlfriend."

Felicity squinted, seemingly genuine in her confusion as she tilted her head, directing Lena with inquisitive blue eyes. Wow, Lena wondered if this was something that all blondes with a penchant for ponytails had.

"We're not dating," Lena reaffirmed. "I've only just started forgiving her for lying to me," she muttered, uncertain as to why she was telling Felicity this in the first place. She barely even knew the woman.

"Ah," Felicity said, the empathy from before returning in full force as she nodded, like she totally understood what Lena was going through. "I found out my husband lied to me about his son when I was in a wheelchair." Lena's eyes widened. "Yeah, it was a rough patch." Felicity snorted with a shake of her head as amusement slithered onto her features. "You know, maybe Kara didn't exactly bring me here to talk about the chair."

The raven haired woman supported her chin with a palm, a small smile pulling onto her lips. "I'm starting to see that."

"It took us almost two years to truly heal. It wasn't easy. For a long time, I really thought we were done. Like there would be no chance anymore. I tried to move on, but I just couldn't, you know. At the end of the day, he's still the man I'm so desperately in love with. And I learned to…accept it. Accept his flaws. Accept his goodness too."

"How?"

"Communicate," Felicity offered. "I know it sounds cliché but it's true. Communication is really important." There was a pause as Felicity hesitated. "It's probably not my place, but since I'm here, why not, right?" she said with a shrug. "Kara really cares about you. She loves you. When she came to see me, I could see that she really worries about you and wants you to be okay. She just wants you to be okay."

Lena clenched her jaw and wished that she could curl into a ball so that she wouldn't weaken in front of a stranger. But then again, curling into a ball seemed like a clear sign of weakness. She knew that her features showed no sign of being moved, perhaps she looked exactly like the stoic CEO that she had become famous for, but Felicity's words were undoubtedly swirling in her head.

She sighed. "I'm trying."

Instead of pushing her like any other person who wouldn't understand would, Felicity just nodded and adjusted her glasses. "That's what we're all doing at the end of the day, isn't it?"

* * *

"Is that the chip?" Kara asked when she came into Lena's office and saw her twirling a small item in her hand. Lena threw the blonde a curious look. Kara gulped, and as majestic as she usually looked in that suit, she didn't seem all that majestic under Lena's stare. "I might have…gotten Felicity here for the chip as well."

"Uh huh."

Before the blonde genius from Earth-1 had decided that it was time for her to go home, she informed Lena of how she was able to stand and walk again. Because just like Lena, Felicity was supposed to lose mobility in her legs completely. She left the chip as a form of reassurance, claiming that just in case Lena eventually grew tired of the situation she was stuck in, just like Felicity had.

Kara managed a guilty smile. "Felicity thinks you're cool."

Lena snorted and put down the chip. "I like her too. She's nice. Pretty hard to not like someone with the same IQ points as you though."

"Wow, really?"

Lena nodded. "I had to ask. I'm competitive like that."

Kara laughed and visibly loosened as the situation relaxed between them. And then they were ensconced in silence. Normally, the Kryptonian would have asked if she was ready to go home and she would nod.

But tonight, it was almost like they both could sense something hanging in the air, as if Felicity's presence had fixed the magnet and their meeting in the middle was inevitable. She made a note to ask Kara if there was any way she could communicate with Felicity again. She had a feeling they would be able to do a lot together.

"You lied to me," she said, locking eyes with Kara. Her lips were pursed and she wasn't quite sure where she was going with this; the only thing she was sure of was that she needed to lay it all out today. "You – you took advantage of my trust in you and you broke my heart."

"I wanted to tell you," Kara said, a regretful expression on her face. "I really did. I just didn't know how to. Every day, I grew more and more afraid, because you –" Kara laughed, almost in disbelief "– you were the only person apart from my sister who saw me as just Kara – not Kara Danvers or Kara Zor-El, but _Kara_. I didn't want to lose that. There's no excusing it, I know. But I was just really afraid."

Lena placed a hand on the back of her neck and started kneading the muscles there. She should have poured herself a glass of scotch before making her point.

"I want to be yours so badly."

The CEO sucked in a sharp breath at the unexpected confession. She must have heard wrong, but when she looked at Kara, all she saw was honest-to-goodness sincerity – Kara was just standing there, laying it all out to Lena. She was really trying to get the forgiveness that she probably didn't think she deserved.

"Kara Zor-El belongs to Krypton. Kara Danvers belongs to National City. And Kara, me as Kara, well, I've been looking for a place to belong to my whole life, and I want that place to be you," the blonde stated with a helpless shrug. "I am so sorry and I am in so deep and I am not sure I wanna get out." She stopped in her diatribe and Lena was still unable to find words to respond. "I want to be here for you and with you, in any capacity. I can't lose you."

Removing her hand from behind her neck, Lena picked up the chip and looked at it again, admiring the handiwork that went into the invention of such a marvel. She licked her lips and told herself that she rarely ever made extraordinary leaps, so maybe she should start doing it.

At least this once.

"I'm not gonna use it," Lena said, completely off-topic. "This chip, I'm not gonna use it." Kara just stared at her, somewhat flummoxed at the change of topic. "If there's anything I've learned my entire life, it's that I am strong and I don't need a chip to validate my strength. I don't know – maybe in the future, I will use it, but for now, I'm not gonna use it. Because I am strong."

"Yes, you are," Kara acknowledge.

Lena couldn't help but felt a surge of pleasure when she saw the glint of pride in those blue irises, but she wasn't done yet. "Just like I know that I am strong enough to do this." Kara narrowed her eyes, starting to frown. "To love. To be loved. I am strong enough for both of those things."

The blonde didn't react much. All she did was frown deeper, but Lena would never be able to miss that glint in her eyes – the hopefulness that almost shone through the darkness of the night. Lena felt her heart swell at the sight and had to wonder why she took so long.

One lie shouldn't be able to do that; it shouldn't be able to almost tear a friendship apart; it shouldn't ruin relationships and destroy dynamics.

Sure, it was an enormous lie – one would say it was Krypton-sized, if one had bones for bad joke – and yeah, Lena definitely still felt the sting from that one lie. But truth be told, she had spent quite some time thinking about it, especially with the all the free time she had after the accident, and she couldn't really blame the blonde for it.

Not that Kara was right, but Lena could see why she had lied.

"No one's ever made me as happy as you," Lena said, offering it as her sign.

It was Kara's turn. And damn, what happened next definitely showed that Supergirl was absolutely one for initiatives. Suddenly, the CEO found herself swept up from her seat and into two strong arms that she hadn't allowed herself to relish since her release from the hospital. Despite the suddenness of it all, it didn't escape her that Kara was still attempting to hold her as gently as possible.

Nevertheless, all of those weren't that important. Not as important as the lips that had attached to her own.

Lena had felt cold almost her entire life, beginning from the moment she entered the Luthor mansion with her backpack and teddy bear. When she met Kara, she could feel a little warmth slithering in, putting yellow and red into her world gradually – and she had thought that was it, that was the warmest she could feel, and it was amazing.

But here and now, with Kara kissing her, the warmth reached a whole another level. Almost like her whole world had burst with new kinds of colors yet to be discovered. She wanted to say it was magical, but she was scientist, and yet she wasn't sure if even science could explain this kind of feeling.

Eventually, they had to let go, mostly because Lena was still human and oxygen was a must. They rested their foreheads against one another and Lena had to laugh.

"You're gonna owe me a lot of that to make up for lying to me, just so you know," she said.

Kara only locked her arms more securely around her, blue eyes filled with nothing but bliss. "Well, if that's what it takes."

* * *

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